#136 Learning to Speak Irish with Eoin – AUDIO

I must confess; my knowledge of the Irish language tends to be limited to place names and a few simple words like slán (bye) and fir (which means men… as in which door I should enter when I need to use the toilet… for ladies it’s mná). Fortunately, the internet is making learning Irish a bit easier, and Eion from Bitesize Irish Gaelic offers his insights into the Irish languag and teaches us a few handy phrases in the process… “Pionta Guinness Le do thoil!!!” And Liam sings us a song in Irish.

Go ahead and have a listen…. you’ll likely learn a few things.

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON below to listen.

QUOTES FROM THIS INTERVIEW

“The very way the Irish language forms sentences is a deep insight into how the Irish people have thought over the centuries. So if you start to tap into learning a bit of Irish you’re really getting a close, deep, inner view of how people have been thinking.” – 07:57

“The people we deal with have been brought up with a very close, dear connection to Ireland… even if they never been there. It’s that longing for Ireland.” – 13:07

“Learning Irish is not really a weekend project, but you can do it in bite size pieces.” – 13:40

“Find something that teaches you Irish and learn that; and if you come across a different expression for the same context, that’s great because you’re exposing yourself to more regional variances.” – 21:07

“The worst thing you could do is just not start.” – 23:50

“Language is all about reading, but it’s also about understanding and then expressing yourself.” – 25:40

“What we did at Bitesize Irish Gaelic was break the down the Irish language into the simplest, most interesting parts that you could learn.” – 25:56

“If you can use even a couple of simple Irish phrases when you get to Ireland you will get some great smiles off the locals.” -28:56

“Why do I speak Irish? I was brought up with the Irish language. I’m passing the Irish language to my son, and it’s something that many of my ancestors along the way have spoken for more years than we can count. In my life it’s about keeping something alive.” – 32:47

“You can visit Ireland. You can visit the land of your ancestors. And to go even more deeply and personally about it… I think learning to speak the Irish language is a very respectable thing to do for that cause.” – 33:55

“Dublin and Belfast have a very strong urban movement. Unfortunately the traditional side of the Irish language is shrinking, but the number of people looking to learn Irish is growing.” – 35:35

“Limerick is quite an old city, and the River Shannon runs through it. So just by the fact that you get to Limerick City, and you can make it to the river banks and walk along the river banks, that’s beautiful in itself.” – 36:45

“If you travel out on the Dingle Peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne), there’s some beautiful beaches around there. Down on one of those beaches on the peninsula, I proposed to Sasha all those years ago.” – 38:40